Ecobot II: A Fly-eating Robot

Researchers at the
University of the West of England in Bristol have developed a new,
carnivorous robot, called Ecobot II, that eats
and digests flies for power. The researchers are working on "release and
forget" robots that can find their own power sources after being
deployed. This is the same team who developed the well-known Ecobot I
(aka Slugbot) that ate
and digested slugs for power. Expect more carnivorous robots in the
future. Ecobot II is an improvment but still takes 12 minutes of
digestion to generate enough energy to move forward 2 cm. And
Ecobot doesn't smell too nice either, since it's digestion process
relies on human sewage for the bacteria needed. For more, see the
stories in NewScientist.com,
Newsfactor,
Scotsman.com,
and the discussion on Slashdot.